Books, Beaches, & Blather

Wednesday

Fairly soon after my dad got home yesterday, he again experienced chest pains that were severe enough to make another trip to the ER.  He was kept overnight at Huntsville Hospital and as of yet the doctors have not been able to hone in on any specific problem; however, they are running a battery of tests to rule out anything severe.

In the meantime, I promised C that I would attempt to embarrass her by relating a conversation we had over lunch today.  Tomorrow night we're celebrating a good friend's birthday at a nice restaurant you may have heard of; we've never before been there and that was the conversational topic:

J: I'm excited about Spago.  I've always wanted to go there.
C:  Yes, and it will be really fun with R & S.
J:  I told R that we'd taken out a second mortgage and we're ready to go.
C: It is expensive, isn't it.
J:  Yes, but I've always wanted to go there.
C:  It will make it worth it to be there with R & S.  Otherwise I don't know if we'd try it out on our own.
J:  Yes, we've lived here for four years and haven't made it there.
C:  Yeah, besides, I don't know if I'd want to go to Spago with just you.  It would be just like all the rest of our meals.  You and I alone staring at each other across the table.

Glad I could be such sparkling company, C.  We haven't even been married seven years, have we?

Tuesday

My dad is home - he had a little post-cath complication involving some blood clotting in his leg (outside his artery), but the vascular surgeon was able to take care of that.  Now that he's home I guess the fun stuff for him begins: rehab, rehab, rehab.  And lots of salmon, tuna, oatmeal, and almonds.

Sunday

My dad continues to get better and better.  Today he began his regiment of recovery exercise and walked a few laps around the cardiac wing of the hospital.  His doctors say he may be able to go home as soon as tomorrow; he seems as if he's getting his strength back...and perhaps most importantly, he's able to dedicate a lot of time towards his fantasy baseball leagues.

We flew home to California today.   The conference at Lipscomb was enjoyable on so many levels and we enjoyed reconnecting with friends...some of whom we hadn't seen in nearly a decade.  Special thanks to the Bakers for giving us a ride back to Athens as a result of our needing to juggle rental cars and airport changes.  Also thanks to RC and EC for being at LAX this afternoon to entertain us upon our arrival.  There's nothing like having one of your favorite 5-year olds greet you upon your return home by saying "Hola, Amigos!"  Thanks as well to so many of you for your kind words, thoughts, prayers, and cards over the past week or so...our family appreciates it a great deal.

Friday

Yesterday my dad had the cardiac catheterization procedure done again to make sure everything looked ok following his spell on Wednesday; everything looked fine so today they're doing a GI scope to make sure everything in his GI system is functioning properly.  He's back in his room and is still recovering well.

C and I are in Nashville now, attending the Christian Scholars Conference at Lipscomb University.  We'll travel back down to Alabama on Saturday following the conference.  It's been a while since I've been on campus here...and I'm very impressed.  Next year's CSC will be here at Lipscomb again and the plenary speakers are Barbara Brown Taylor and Billy Collins.  Guess I'll have to make another Nashville trip then.

Wednesday Afternoon

This morning my dad was doing well...perhaps too well, for after getting out of bed, showering, and sitting at the desk in his hospital room to check email he began experiencing pain in his jaw, shoulder, and arms once more.  He was put on oxygen again and had to get back in bed and take things more slowly.  By the afternoon he was doing better, but tomorrow they're rerunning the cath to make sure all is well in his heart and the stents are still doing their job.  No word yet on when he can begin cardiac rehab here (or at home).

Tuesday Afternoon

Around noon today my dad was moved to a private room (363).  He's doing so much better...even though his face still looks battered and bruised from where his head hit the floor when he collapsed on Friday afternoon.  Almost all of his tubes have been removed and he's taking his medications by mouth, so this is good news all around.  Thanks so much for all the encouraging words and prayers.

(ps.  One of today's selfish highlights was getting to meet and have lunch with Mike the EyeGuy.  Thanks, Mike, for coming to see us, and great meeting you finally in person!)

Monday

This morning the cardiologist thought my dad had made enough progress to pull him off the balloon pump (the device assisting his heart) altogether, so this morning they did just that.  At our 10:30am visit he seemed weaker than he had last night, but this was because it was the first time since Friday afternoon (when he had the attack) that his heart was on its own again.  Throughout the day he seemed stronger and stronger, and by our 8:30pm visit tonight he had eaten his first solid meal, had more of his tubes removed, and was lying more upright watching the Red Sox-Diamondbacks game on ESPN.  If everything continues at this pace, one of the CCU nurses said he might be moved out of critical care sometime tomorrow and into a private room.  In addition to the friends who have stopped by to visit, a group from my parents' church sent an overwhelmingly large "goodie" basket for us. 

We're eating the chocolates from it before my dad sees it.

Sunday

The Cardiac ICU unit at Huntsville Hospital allows four visitation periods a day: 10:30am-10:50am, 1:30pm-1:50pm, 4:30pm-4:50pm, and 8:30pm-8:50pm.  Each time we've seen my dad today he seems to be doing better.  At 4:30 this afternoon he was even strong enough to stay awake for the duration of our visit and ask more probing questions about his fantasy baseball league(s).  He's on a balloon pump that is assisting his heart's beating, but they've been able to reduce the "juice" with which that's on and are hoping to taper him off of it by Tuesday.  If he continues this progress he may be able to move out of ICU on Tuesday.

In the meantime, we're spending most of our time in the new ICU waiting room here.  It's almost lavish - flatscreen tv's are everywhere playing movies, incredibly comfortable reclining/sleeping chairs are always available, the whole place has strong, free wifi, a computer lab exists where guests can check email and surf the internet, there's a library area with books and periodicals, and there are even showers and kitchen facilities.  One could almost live here in the ICU waiting room, and my impression of Huntsville Hospital has been nothing but good.  Hospital waiting rooms are strange and uncomfortable places on many levels, but if you're looking for a good one, there's one here.

Update

This evening when we saw my dad in CCU he was alert and able to crack a joke or two.  His nurse said that he has shown improvement througout the day.  One of his legs is immobilized and that's causing him discomfort; they're giving him some pain meds to help with that.  His cardiologist said that he's very lucky: he suffered the classic "widowmaker" heart attack of the frontal lobe but survived.  We expect that he'll be in CCU for several days and in the hospital for a while after that.  Thanks so much to so many of you for your kind words and prayers - please keep him in mind in the coming days as we all hope he continues his progress.

Prayers

My dad had a heart attack this afternoon and has been med-flighted to Huntsville Hospital.  We were scheduled to fly into Nashville this Thursday for the Christian Scholars Conference at Lipscomb; God bless Southwest Airlines (and I do mean that literally) for allowing us to change our itinerary for next to nothing.  We're leaving on the first flight out tomorrow morning.  Please say a prayer for my dad as this is scary.

Update (9:48pm):  My mom's comment (KRW) gives this info, too, but my dad had two stents placed in one of his arteries this evening and he is recovering in ICU in Huntsville Hospital.  My mom said her visit with him this evening was encouraging - the cardiologist who is working with him has operated on my grandmother before, so there is a family history with him.  I'll write an update here tomorrow night after we've made it to North Alabama.

Thanks so much for your kind words and prayers here and in emails - it continually amazes me how quickly word travels through this medium.  Thank you all very much.